As you know, in a truly historic event yesterday, Treasury Secretary Paulson and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Lockhart announced that “FHFA has placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship.” The government (FHFA) will now be managing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for the foreseeable future.
Below are some thoughts on this historic event…..
Overview
To stabilize and to stimulate the housing and financial markets, the Federal Government is taking the following key steps.
· The GSEs will be allowed to increase their MBS portfolios through the end of 2009
· Treasury will be initiating a program to purchase GSE mortgage-backed securities (through December 31, 2009)
· Treasury has established a new secured lending credit facility which will be available to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks
We believe that Treasury Secretary Paulson and the Bush Administration determined Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were unable to perform their housing missions at a time when they were most needed because the GSEs were trying (unsuccessfully) to address safety and soundness issues associated with raising capital. As a result of this plan, Treasury has indicated that the GSEs will now not be under any pressure to sell assets.
In the short-term, we expect mortgage liquidity should improve. Rates should decline as the risk spreads built into the GSE pricing (due, in part, to fear of potential GSE failure) should be reduced if not eliminated. The extent of the decline will depend on what happens to Treasury yields in the coming days.
Without capital constraints in the near term and based on Secretary Paulson’s comments (see below) , we believe the new Fannie and Freddie will likely rollback at least some of their price increases and loosen underwriting requirements to some extent. It will be curious to see the MI reaction to this government intervention as their tightening of guidelines will now be “front and center” in the effort to expand mortgage financing availability.
We also believe Secretary Paulson’s call to examine the guaranty fee structure could lower those fees across-the-board. It will be interesting to see if the government-controlled GSEs will implement a Ginnie Mae-type flat fee structure and at what level.
On a longer term basis, there will be a “heavyweight” debate next year and beyond about the future size and structure of the GSEs (e.g. public or private entities). That debate will not occur until the new Congress and Administration take office next year.
Why did Treasury/FHFA take this action?
It appears to us that Treasury/FHFA lost confidence in Fannie Mae and Freddie’s Mac’s ability to support the housing recovery while, at the same time, addressing their safety and soundness responsibilities by preserving and raising capital. Below are some of Secretary Paulson and Director Lockhart’s remarks which lead us to this conclusion.
Director Lockhart said:
“Their market share of all new mortgages reached over 80 percent earlier this year, but it is now falling. During the turmoil last year, they (the GSEs) played a very important role in providing liquidity to the conforming mortgage market. That has required a very careful and delicate balance of mission and safety and soundness. A key component of this balance has been their ability to raise and maintain capital. Given recent market conditions, the balance has been lost. Unfortunately, as house prices, earnings and capital have continued to deteriorate, their ability to fulfill their mission has deteriorated. In particular, the capacity of their capital to absorb further losses while supporting new business activity is in doubt. Today’s action addresses safety and soundness concerns. … The result has been that they have been unable to provide needed stability to the market. They also find themselves unable to meet their affordable housing mission. Rather than letting these conditions fester and worsen and put our markets in jeopardy, FHFA, after painstaking review, has decided to take action now. “
Secretary Paulson said:
“I attribute the need for today’s action primarily to the inherent conflict and the flawed business model imbedded in the GSE structure and the ongoing housing correction”. He added that he has “long said, the housing correction poses the biggest risk to the economy”.
“Our economy and our markets will not recover until the bulk of this housing correction is behind us. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are critical to turning the corner” and that “the primary mission of these enterprises will now be to proactively work to increase the availability of mortgage finance including by examining the guaranty fee structure with an eye toward mortgage affordability”.
Comment
We have all seen the steps that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have taken to preserve and raise capital throughout this year. These measures have included raising prices on mortgages and tightening underwriting guidelines. As everyone is also aware, they have been aggressively trying to put back loans to seller-servicers who, in turn, are going back to originators.
Secretary Paulson in particular appeared to conclude that GSEs cannot serve two masters (i.e. its housing mission and its shareholders) during the housing crisis.
What does this mean?
To state the obvious, we are in uncharted waters. This plan is not a “silver bullet” that will address the underlying problems (i.e. record mortgage delinquency and foreclosures) that caused the need for this unprecedented action. MBA’s National Delinquency Survey last week indicated that over 9% of all mortgages are either delinquent or in the foreclosure process. While the new GSE approach to mortgage availability will increase the number of potentially eligible borrowers, it will likely not have any significant impact on affordability (borrowers must still qualify and make downpayments) in those markets where house prices increased the most during the “housing bubble” until house prices and borrower incomes are in line. With this as a caveat, below are our immediate thoughts.
· Short term goals
Two of the immediate goals of this action are: 1) “to increase the availability of mortgage finance” as Secretary Paulson said and 2) to lower mortgage interest rates through the Government guarantee of GSE debt.
· Long term objectives
On a longer term basis, the Government’s action yesterday raises the fundamental question about the government’s role in housing going forward. Secretary Paulson deferred the discussion of this question and the “flawed GSE business model” ( i.e. serving two masters ---public and private objectives) to the next Administration and Congress.
In this update, we will focus on short-term impact since the debate about the GSEs’ future structure and size will depend on who wins the election and the make-up of the Congress.
Short term Impact
For the housing industry, the short-term impact of the Government takeover appears to be positive.
· Mortgage rates should decline
· Liquidity should be increased
o GSEs should loosen standards (somewhat)
o GSEs should reduce fees including guaranty fees
· Some housing experts feel house price may stabilize sooner and the level of further house price decline will be moderated as a result
Potential Impact
· There could be a mini-refinance boom if the rate decline materializes.
o Hedging of servicing portfolios and pipeline problems will have to be addressed
There are many questions to be answered in the coming days and weeks:
(Here is a couple)
· How will the MIs react?
o Their underwriting and pricing policies will be “front and center” if the GSEs take the actions we expect
· What will the new Fannie/Freddie management’s policy be on buybacks? Will they be more reasonable? If so, credit policies may relax!
· On g-fees, will the GSEs pursue the Ginnie Mae approach (uniform g-fees across the board)?
· What will be the new GSEs do with respect to lender relationships (preferential pricing, etc.)?
Jillian Sorensen
Account Executive
Franklin American Mortgage Company
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Fed cuts rates as economy slumps, hoping to stop recession
WASHINGTON - Scrambling to shore up the faltering economy, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates to the lowest point in nearly four years Wednesday as the nation teetered on the edge of recession.
Wall Street rallied at first but then pulled back, concerned that the reduction might be the last for a while.
In fact, the Fed's trim was smaller than those of recent months amid indications the central bank might pause to see if months of powerful rate-cutting medicine and billions of dollars in stimulus checks will be enough to lift the country out of its slump.
Chairman Ben Bernanke led a divided Fed, in an 8-2 vote, in slicing its key rate by one-quarter percentage point to 2 percent.
In turn, the prime lending rate for millions of consumers and businesses fell by a corresponding amount, to 5 percent. The prime rate applies to certain credit cards, home equity lines of credit and other loans. Both rates are the lowest since late 2004.
The Federal Reserve, which has been dropping rates since last September, turned much more forceful early this year when housing, credit and financial problems worsened. Rate reductions in January and March alone marked the most aggressive intervention in a quarter-century in an effort to re-energize consumers and businesses.
Enthusiastic Wall Street investors drove the Dow Jones industrial average up more than 178 points — lifting it above 13,000 for the first time since early January — right after the Fed action. Then traders' caution returned, and the index ended the day 11.81 points below where it started.
Although the Fed didn't take another reduction off the table, a growing number of economists believe the central bank is winding down its rate-cutting campaign. Barring another hit to economic growth, they believe rates probably will stay where they are — perhaps through the rest of this year — in part because the Federal Reserve is concerned that further cuts could join with galloping energy and food prices and spread inflation dangerously higher.
By all accounts, the country's economic health is fragile.
The economy crawled ahead at a pace of just 0.6 percent from January through March as housing and credit problems forced people and businesses to hunker down, the Commerce Department reported hours before the Fed's action. Growth had been just as feeble in the prior quarter.
Job losses for the first three months of the year neared the staggering quarter-million mark, and a government report on Friday is expected to show that employers shed jobs again in April. The unemployment rate, now at 5.1 percent, also could creep higher in April and hit 6 percent early next year, analysts say.
"Recent information indicates that economic activity remains weak," the Fed said. "Household and business spending has been subdued, and labor markets have softened further. Financial markets remain under considerable stress, and tight credit conditions and the deepening housing contraction are likely to weigh on economic growth over the next few quarters."
Two members — Charles Plosser, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, and Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas — opposed cutting rates Wednesday, a crack in the usually unified front the Fed often shows the public.
Both men have a reputation for being especially vigilant about fighting inflation. At the Fed's previous meeting in March, they opposed cutting rates by a whopping three-quarters point and preferred a smaller reduction.
"The Fed didn't completely shut the door on rate cuts but they closed it part way," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "I think the overall message was they've done a lot already to help the economy and think this will be enough. But they stand ready to do more if that is needed."
Source: www.yahoo.com , April 30, 2008, Associated Press
Wall Street rallied at first but then pulled back, concerned that the reduction might be the last for a while.
In fact, the Fed's trim was smaller than those of recent months amid indications the central bank might pause to see if months of powerful rate-cutting medicine and billions of dollars in stimulus checks will be enough to lift the country out of its slump.
Chairman Ben Bernanke led a divided Fed, in an 8-2 vote, in slicing its key rate by one-quarter percentage point to 2 percent.
In turn, the prime lending rate for millions of consumers and businesses fell by a corresponding amount, to 5 percent. The prime rate applies to certain credit cards, home equity lines of credit and other loans. Both rates are the lowest since late 2004.
The Federal Reserve, which has been dropping rates since last September, turned much more forceful early this year when housing, credit and financial problems worsened. Rate reductions in January and March alone marked the most aggressive intervention in a quarter-century in an effort to re-energize consumers and businesses.
Enthusiastic Wall Street investors drove the Dow Jones industrial average up more than 178 points — lifting it above 13,000 for the first time since early January — right after the Fed action. Then traders' caution returned, and the index ended the day 11.81 points below where it started.
Although the Fed didn't take another reduction off the table, a growing number of economists believe the central bank is winding down its rate-cutting campaign. Barring another hit to economic growth, they believe rates probably will stay where they are — perhaps through the rest of this year — in part because the Federal Reserve is concerned that further cuts could join with galloping energy and food prices and spread inflation dangerously higher.
By all accounts, the country's economic health is fragile.
The economy crawled ahead at a pace of just 0.6 percent from January through March as housing and credit problems forced people and businesses to hunker down, the Commerce Department reported hours before the Fed's action. Growth had been just as feeble in the prior quarter.
Job losses for the first three months of the year neared the staggering quarter-million mark, and a government report on Friday is expected to show that employers shed jobs again in April. The unemployment rate, now at 5.1 percent, also could creep higher in April and hit 6 percent early next year, analysts say.
"Recent information indicates that economic activity remains weak," the Fed said. "Household and business spending has been subdued, and labor markets have softened further. Financial markets remain under considerable stress, and tight credit conditions and the deepening housing contraction are likely to weigh on economic growth over the next few quarters."
Two members — Charles Plosser, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, and Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas — opposed cutting rates Wednesday, a crack in the usually unified front the Fed often shows the public.
Both men have a reputation for being especially vigilant about fighting inflation. At the Fed's previous meeting in March, they opposed cutting rates by a whopping three-quarters point and preferred a smaller reduction.
"The Fed didn't completely shut the door on rate cuts but they closed it part way," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "I think the overall message was they've done a lot already to help the economy and think this will be enough. But they stand ready to do more if that is needed."
Source: www.yahoo.com , April 30, 2008, Associated Press
Scripture for Today
VERSE: And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you weresealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rageand anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. -- Ephesians 4:30-31 http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Ephesians+4:30-31
THOUGHT: Don't make God's Spirit sad! But how do we do that? By harboringbitterness, unleashing anger driven rage, fighting with others andslandering their name while plotting to harm them. These things arethe exact opposite of the qualities the Spirit is seeking toproduce in our lives (Galatians 5:22-23). No wonder it makes himsad!
PRAYER: Almighty Father, please make me more like Jesus by the power ofyour Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/todaysverse.cgi?day=20080430
THOUGHT: Don't make God's Spirit sad! But how do we do that? By harboringbitterness, unleashing anger driven rage, fighting with others andslandering their name while plotting to harm them. These things arethe exact opposite of the qualities the Spirit is seeking toproduce in our lives (Galatians 5:22-23). No wonder it makes himsad!
PRAYER: Almighty Father, please make me more like Jesus by the power ofyour Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/todaysverse.cgi?day=20080430
Friday, April 25, 2008
5 Easy Ways to Sell Your Home Faster
You don’t have to take on a full-fledged renovation to get prospective buyers interested in your house—in fact, that may even turn some people away in a challenging market. After all, every penny that you’ve sunk into an obvious upgrade is money that the seller is mentally adding up as a factor in the price—and may represent an aesthetic choice the buyer would not have made. (Cancel that appointment at the Sub-Zero showroom, STAT.) There are simple ways, however, to make your home seem infinitely more appealing with very little investment—and very little effort.
1. If you do only two things before showing your house, clean, and clean some more. “People want to come into a space and visualize themselves living there,” says Manhattan-based Corcoran Group sales broker Jeanine Schlifer. “If there are spills on the table, toys on the floor, and dog mess everywhere, people can’t focus on the space.” It’s worth it to hire a professional to come in for a deep-clean, as they may find dirt in places you can easily overlook, like scuffs on walls and smudged light switch plates.
2. Accentuate the positive, camouflage the negative. If you have large windows or a great view, hang long, simple curtains to accentuate them. (Hanging curtains from just above and outside the window frame will also make ceilings feel higher and windows more impressive.) If you have spacious rooms, remove any too-bulky furniture or unnecessary pieces that would make the space feel cramped. Geller suggests looking at furniture catalogs to get ideas for pleasing furniture proportions, arrangements, and an idea of how many pieces to keep in a room. If your closets are tiny, pull out some of the clothes and store them elsewhere.
3. Appeal to the widest possible audience. If you have a hot-pink accent wall, paint over it with a more neutral shade that matches the other walls. Pack away that collection of Star Wars figurines. Stash kids’ toys or dog toys in another room. “Remember that you’re selling your home, not your personality,” Schlifer says. And a prospective buyer who hates dogs could get hung up on your giant training crate and pile of rawhide bones. (Be sure to also take pets to a friend’s house or a kennel and vacuum well before any showings—a sneezing, fur-allergic buyer is not a happy one.)
4. Create a welcoming environment. “You want buyers to make an emotional connection to your home,” Schlifer says, and you can go a long way toward achieving that by making the space feel warm, bright, and fresh. Replace dim light bulbs with new ones and make sure there is a pleasant, but not overpowering, smell in the house. (Try baking cookies or setting out a scented-oil diffuser.) Place fresh guest soaps in the bathroom, hang a new shower curtain and neatly fold matching bath towels.
5. Develop a quick-clean plan for last-minute showings. You never know when a realtor may have an interested client, so it’s important to have a speedy cleaning plan for spontaneous appointments. Invest in a nice-looking storage trunk for stashing day-to-day clutter in a hurry and make a habit of kicking up your regular cleaning routine a notch so there’s less to do before a visit.
Source: www.yahoo.com Valerie Rains, Shine staff, on Sun Apr 20, 2008 .
1. If you do only two things before showing your house, clean, and clean some more. “People want to come into a space and visualize themselves living there,” says Manhattan-based Corcoran Group sales broker Jeanine Schlifer. “If there are spills on the table, toys on the floor, and dog mess everywhere, people can’t focus on the space.” It’s worth it to hire a professional to come in for a deep-clean, as they may find dirt in places you can easily overlook, like scuffs on walls and smudged light switch plates.
2. Accentuate the positive, camouflage the negative. If you have large windows or a great view, hang long, simple curtains to accentuate them. (Hanging curtains from just above and outside the window frame will also make ceilings feel higher and windows more impressive.) If you have spacious rooms, remove any too-bulky furniture or unnecessary pieces that would make the space feel cramped. Geller suggests looking at furniture catalogs to get ideas for pleasing furniture proportions, arrangements, and an idea of how many pieces to keep in a room. If your closets are tiny, pull out some of the clothes and store them elsewhere.
3. Appeal to the widest possible audience. If you have a hot-pink accent wall, paint over it with a more neutral shade that matches the other walls. Pack away that collection of Star Wars figurines. Stash kids’ toys or dog toys in another room. “Remember that you’re selling your home, not your personality,” Schlifer says. And a prospective buyer who hates dogs could get hung up on your giant training crate and pile of rawhide bones. (Be sure to also take pets to a friend’s house or a kennel and vacuum well before any showings—a sneezing, fur-allergic buyer is not a happy one.)
4. Create a welcoming environment. “You want buyers to make an emotional connection to your home,” Schlifer says, and you can go a long way toward achieving that by making the space feel warm, bright, and fresh. Replace dim light bulbs with new ones and make sure there is a pleasant, but not overpowering, smell in the house. (Try baking cookies or setting out a scented-oil diffuser.) Place fresh guest soaps in the bathroom, hang a new shower curtain and neatly fold matching bath towels.
5. Develop a quick-clean plan for last-minute showings. You never know when a realtor may have an interested client, so it’s important to have a speedy cleaning plan for spontaneous appointments. Invest in a nice-looking storage trunk for stashing day-to-day clutter in a hurry and make a habit of kicking up your regular cleaning routine a notch so there’s less to do before a visit.
Source: www.yahoo.com Valerie Rains, Shine staff, on Sun Apr 20, 2008 .
Scripture for Today
VERSE: He [Jesus] was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. -- Romans 4:25 http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Romans+4:25
THOUGHT: Why are the Cross and the Empty Tomb so important? Because everything important and truly lasting in life depends upon them!
PRAYER: Thank you, dear Father, for paying such an awful price forcleansing me of my sins. Thank you, precious Savior, for sacrificing everything to save me. Thank you, Holy Spirit, forcleansing me and living inside me to conform me to Christ. In hisname, Jesus of Nazareth, I pray. Amen.
http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/todaysverse.cgi?day=20080425
THOUGHT: Why are the Cross and the Empty Tomb so important? Because everything important and truly lasting in life depends upon them!
PRAYER: Thank you, dear Father, for paying such an awful price forcleansing me of my sins. Thank you, precious Savior, for sacrificing everything to save me. Thank you, Holy Spirit, forcleansing me and living inside me to conform me to Christ. In hisname, Jesus of Nazareth, I pray. Amen.
http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/todaysverse.cgi?day=20080425
Thursday, April 24, 2008
New home sales plunge to lowest level in 16 1/2 years
New home sales plunge to lowest level in 16 1/2 years, prices drop by largest amount in 38 years
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sales of new homes plunged in March to the lowest level in 16 1/2 years as housing slumped further at the start of the spring sales season.
The median price of a new home in March, compared with a year ago, fell by the largest amount in nearly four decades.
The Commerce Department reported Thursday that sales of new homes dropped by 8.5 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 526,000 units, the slowest sales pace since October 1991.
The median price of a home sold in March dropped by 13.3 percent compared with March 2007, the biggest year-over-year price decline since a 14.6 percent plunge in July 1970.
The dismal news on new home sales followed earlier reports showing sales of existing homes fell by 2 percent in March. Housing, which boomed for five years, has been in a prolonged slump for the past two years with sales and home prices falling at especially sharp rates in formerly boom areas of the country.
For March, sales were down in all regions of the country, dropping the most in the Northeast, a decline of 19.4 percent. Sales fell by 12.9 percent in the West, 12.5 percent in the Midwest and 4.6 percent in the South.
In other economic news, orders to factories for big-ticket manufactured goods fell for a third straight month in March, the longest string of declines since the 2001 recession, while applications for unemployment benefits fell by 33,000 to 342,000.
The Commerce Department said demand for durable goods dropped by 0.3 percent last month, a worse-than-expected performance that underscored the problems manufacturers are facing from a severe economic slowdown. The last time orders fell for three consecutive months was from February to April of 2001, when the country was sliding into the last recession.
The weakness in manufacturing orders was led by a 4.6 percent drop in orders for autos, a sector hard hit by soaring gasoline prices, and the weakening economy, which have cut sharply into car sales. Orders in the category that includes home appliances fell by 6.6 percent. This industry has been hurt by the two-year slump in home sales.
President Bush said Tuesday that the economy was not in a recession but a period of slower growth. However, economists who believe the country has fallen into a recession pointed to the string of declines in manufacturing orders to support their view.
"The broad swath of data in the March (orders) report is indicative of a mixed set of conditions in a factory sector that is, overall, in a mild recession," said Cliff Waldman, economist for the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI.
The Labor Department reported that claims for unemployment benefits fell by 33,000 last week to 342,000. Economists had been expecting claims to rise by 3,000. The four-week moving average for claims fell by 7,250 to 369,500.
Even with the improvements, analysts said the weak economy is still putting greater pressures on the labor market. The unemployment rate climbed to 5.1 percent in March as businesses laid off the largest number of workers in five years.
Economic growth slowed to a near-standstill at the end of last year as the economy was battered by the prolonged slump in housing and a severe credit crunch that has resulted in billions of dollars of losses at many of the nation's largest financial institutions and has made it harder for consumers and businesses to get loans.
Consumer sentiment, meanwhile, has plunged to recessionary lows as Americans have also watched gasoline soar to an average price above $3.50 per gallon nationally.
The 0.3 percent drop in orders for durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, followed even bigger declines of 0.9 percent in February and 4.4 percent in January.
Orders for all transportation products fell by 4.6 percent, reflecting the big drop in demand for autos. Orders for commercial aircraft actually rose by 5.5 percent while demand for defense aircraft surged by 29.4 percent. Many defense industries have seen big increases reflecting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A key category viewed as a proxy for business investment plans showed no increase in March after a big 2 percent drop in February. Businesses have cut back on plans to expand and modernize as the economy has softened.
SOURCE: www.yahoo.com Thursday April 24, 11:13 am ET By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sales of new homes plunged in March to the lowest level in 16 1/2 years as housing slumped further at the start of the spring sales season.
The median price of a new home in March, compared with a year ago, fell by the largest amount in nearly four decades.
The Commerce Department reported Thursday that sales of new homes dropped by 8.5 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 526,000 units, the slowest sales pace since October 1991.
The median price of a home sold in March dropped by 13.3 percent compared with March 2007, the biggest year-over-year price decline since a 14.6 percent plunge in July 1970.
The dismal news on new home sales followed earlier reports showing sales of existing homes fell by 2 percent in March. Housing, which boomed for five years, has been in a prolonged slump for the past two years with sales and home prices falling at especially sharp rates in formerly boom areas of the country.
For March, sales were down in all regions of the country, dropping the most in the Northeast, a decline of 19.4 percent. Sales fell by 12.9 percent in the West, 12.5 percent in the Midwest and 4.6 percent in the South.
In other economic news, orders to factories for big-ticket manufactured goods fell for a third straight month in March, the longest string of declines since the 2001 recession, while applications for unemployment benefits fell by 33,000 to 342,000.
The Commerce Department said demand for durable goods dropped by 0.3 percent last month, a worse-than-expected performance that underscored the problems manufacturers are facing from a severe economic slowdown. The last time orders fell for three consecutive months was from February to April of 2001, when the country was sliding into the last recession.
The weakness in manufacturing orders was led by a 4.6 percent drop in orders for autos, a sector hard hit by soaring gasoline prices, and the weakening economy, which have cut sharply into car sales. Orders in the category that includes home appliances fell by 6.6 percent. This industry has been hurt by the two-year slump in home sales.
President Bush said Tuesday that the economy was not in a recession but a period of slower growth. However, economists who believe the country has fallen into a recession pointed to the string of declines in manufacturing orders to support their view.
"The broad swath of data in the March (orders) report is indicative of a mixed set of conditions in a factory sector that is, overall, in a mild recession," said Cliff Waldman, economist for the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI.
The Labor Department reported that claims for unemployment benefits fell by 33,000 last week to 342,000. Economists had been expecting claims to rise by 3,000. The four-week moving average for claims fell by 7,250 to 369,500.
Even with the improvements, analysts said the weak economy is still putting greater pressures on the labor market. The unemployment rate climbed to 5.1 percent in March as businesses laid off the largest number of workers in five years.
Economic growth slowed to a near-standstill at the end of last year as the economy was battered by the prolonged slump in housing and a severe credit crunch that has resulted in billions of dollars of losses at many of the nation's largest financial institutions and has made it harder for consumers and businesses to get loans.
Consumer sentiment, meanwhile, has plunged to recessionary lows as Americans have also watched gasoline soar to an average price above $3.50 per gallon nationally.
The 0.3 percent drop in orders for durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, followed even bigger declines of 0.9 percent in February and 4.4 percent in January.
Orders for all transportation products fell by 4.6 percent, reflecting the big drop in demand for autos. Orders for commercial aircraft actually rose by 5.5 percent while demand for defense aircraft surged by 29.4 percent. Many defense industries have seen big increases reflecting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A key category viewed as a proxy for business investment plans showed no increase in March after a big 2 percent drop in February. Businesses have cut back on plans to expand and modernize as the economy has softened.
SOURCE: www.yahoo.com Thursday April 24, 11:13 am ET By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer
Scripture for Today
April 24, 2008
VERSE: "Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you -- and even more.Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what hehas will be taken from him." -- Mark 4:24-25 http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Mark+4:24-25
THOUGHT: "O be careful little ears what you hear ... for the Father upabove is looking down in love, so be careful little ears what youhear." God doesn't want to just be heard aloud; he wants his Wordto enter our systems and change our lives. The more we receive theblessing of God's words, the more it should change us. If itdoesn't, the problem isn't with the message but with the listener!PRAYER: Please open my eyes, my ears, my heart, and my mind, dearFather, so that I can appropriate your message into my life. Blessme, please, dear Father, so that what I hear in your word is seenin my life. In Jesus' precious name I pray.
Amen.
http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/todaysverse.cgi?day=20080424
VERSE: "Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you -- and even more.Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what hehas will be taken from him." -- Mark 4:24-25 http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Mark+4:24-25
THOUGHT: "O be careful little ears what you hear ... for the Father upabove is looking down in love, so be careful little ears what youhear." God doesn't want to just be heard aloud; he wants his Wordto enter our systems and change our lives. The more we receive theblessing of God's words, the more it should change us. If itdoesn't, the problem isn't with the message but with the listener!PRAYER: Please open my eyes, my ears, my heart, and my mind, dearFather, so that I can appropriate your message into my life. Blessme, please, dear Father, so that what I hear in your word is seenin my life. In Jesus' precious name I pray.
Amen.
http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/todaysverse.cgi?day=20080424
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